Helen Hamlyn with Roger Coleman
The Helen Hamlyn Foundation
Helen Hamlyn graduated as a fashion designer from the Royal College of Art in the mid-1950s, and worked as head designer for Cresta Silks and Debenhams. For the past twenty years she has promoted a better environment and better-designed products for older people through her foundation.
The Helen Hamlyn Foundation (HHF) is a registered charity that initiates, encourages and supports innovative projects aimed at improving the quality of life of older people. The foundation's objectives include:
- the provision of support services and facilities to promote the health and welfare of older people
- the development of activities and attitudes in the field of ageing which create and strengthen links between older people and local communities
A major focus has been the design of homes for older people and the household equipment available to them. This led to the New Design For Old exhibition at the V&A Boilerhouse in 1986; the founding of the DesignAge programme at the Royal College of Art in 1991; work with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on the Lifetime Homes campaign; and the establishment of the New Design for Old category in the RSA Student Design Awards.
The foundation has also looked at the fragmented health and social care systems on which many older people are dependent, and helped develop the Elderly People's Integrated Care System (EPICS), and establish working models for enhanced care and support for older people in their communities.
The launch of the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre broadened the foundation's interest in design aimed at improving the lives of people of all ages in a period of rapid social change.